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Implications of Using Nonstandard Poverty Lines: An Illustration Using the Case of the Arab Republic of Egypt

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dc.contributor.authorDecerf, Benoit
dc.contributor.authorGenoni, Maria Eugenia
dc.contributor.authorHelmy, Imane
dc.contributor.authorSanz, Federico
dc.date.accessioned2023-05-15T15:47:56Z
dc.date.available2023-05-15T15:47:56Z
dc.date.issued2023-05-15
dc.description.abstractMany developing countries’ official poverty methodologies rely on nonstandard poverty lines, which complicate poverty comparisons across space or time. The paper considers the case of the Arab Republic of Egypt, whose official poverty lines have two important nonstandard features. First, the line is neither absolute nor relative, but rather hybrid or “weakly relative.” Second, the poverty line’s implicit equivalence scales are not fixed, but are rather endogenous. This paper provides a conceptual and quantitative understanding of these two nonstandard features. The results reveal that the equivalence scale implicit in the official methodology is quantitatively very similar to the (simpler) per capita equivalence scale. Switching to a per capita equivalence scale would help address an implicit gender bias that the paper identifies in Egypt’s official poverty lines. The analysis shows that the official distribution of poverty across regions is very similar to that associated with a purely absolute line. In addition, the change in official poverty rates over the period analyzed (2015 to 2017/18) lies halfway between the larger increase captured by a purely absolute line (10 percentage points) and that captured by a purely relative measure (1 percentage point). However, the results show that these more standard poverty lines do not systematically perform better than the official methodology with respect to the identification of disadvantaged households.en
dc.identifierhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099529105082319790/IDU0c1bece8809a0004c330b3fe079d8b57aecf7
dc.identifier.doi10.1596/1813-9450-10437
dc.identifier.urihttps://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/39807
dc.languageEnglish
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherWashington, DC: World Bank
dc.relation.ispartofseriesPolicy Research Working Paper; 10437
dc.rightsCC BY 3.0 IGO
dc.rights.holderWorld Bank
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/
dc.subjectPOVERTY LINES
dc.subjectABSOLUTE POVERTY
dc.subjectPOVERTY TREND
dc.subjectEGYPT
dc.subjectEQUIVALENCE SCALE
dc.titleImplications of Using Nonstandard Poverty Linesen
dc.title.subtitleAn Illustration Using the Case of the Arab Republic of Egypten
dc.typeWorking Paper
dspace.entity.typePublication
okr.crossref.titleImplications of Using Nonstandard Poverty Lines: An Illustration Using the Case of the Arab Republic of Egypt
okr.date.disclosure2023-05-08
okr.date.doiregistration2025-04-07T08:22:36.786590Z
okr.date.doiregistration2025-04-08T16:10:46.563295Z
okr.date.doiregistration2025-04-09T03:00:50.352538Z
okr.date.lastmodified2023-05-08T00:00:00Zen
okr.doctypePolicy Research Working Paper
okr.doctypePublications & Research
okr.docurlhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099529105082319790/IDU0c1bece8809a0004c330b3fe079d8b57aecf7
okr.guid099529105082319790
okr.identifier.docmidIDU-c1bece88-9a00-4c33-b3fe-79d8b57aecf7
okr.identifier.doi10.1596/1813-9450-10437
okr.identifier.doihttp://dx.doi.org/10.1596/1813-9450-10437
okr.identifier.externaldocumentum34058712
okr.identifier.internaldocumentum34058712
okr.identifier.reportWPS10437
okr.import.id670
okr.importedtrueen
okr.language.supporteden
okr.pdfurlhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099529105082319790/pdf/IDU0c1bece8809a0004c330b3fe079d8b57aecf7.pdfen
okr.region.administrativeMiddle East and North Africa
okr.region.countryEgypt, Arab Republic of
okr.sectorCentral Government (Central Agencies)
okr.topicPoverty Reduction::Equity and Development
okr.topicPoverty Reduction::Poverty Lines
okr.topicGender::Gender and Poverty
okr.unitDECRG: Poverty & Inequality (DECPI)
okr.unitEFI-MNA-POV-Poverty and Equity (EMNPV)
relation.isAuthorOfPublication67ecac67-506a-57af-bdc9-ce6115e18157
relation.isAuthorOfPublication.latestForDiscovery67ecac67-506a-57af-bdc9-ce6115e18157
relation.isSeriesOfPublication26e071dc-b0bf-409c-b982-df2970295c87
relation.isSeriesOfPublication.latestForDiscovery26e071dc-b0bf-409c-b982-df2970295c87
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